- Joka’s aspiring managers now have the infotech advantage to hone their skills

A STAFF REPORTER

With techno-management becoming the buzzword in the biz-world, the budding managers at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) have taken the tech route and set up a branch of the Computer Society of India (CSI) on the Joka campus. The CSI branch at IIMC, the first to be set up in a premier academic institution, will help aspiring managers sharpen their skills in technology tools and take on the challenges of the ever-changing business environment.

“Besides spreading awareness on the need of information technology (IT) in today’s world, we also aspire to provide answers to all technology-related problems that a budding manager may face. We will leverage the knowledge base of CSI and management skills of IIM Calcutta towards our goal of being a centre of excellence in techno-management,” says M. Scalem, executive chairman, CSI-IIMC, and a fellow programme student at Joka. Promoted by IT professionals, CSI is a national body with 22,000 members and 64 chapters in the country.

Facilitating the development of technical knowledge among the youth is the prime focus of the fledgling body at one of the country’s premier B-schools, adds Scalem, founder of the forum at IIMC. Though the primary focus of the Society will be on-campus, the student-members are keen to reach out to the corporate world with tailor-made programmes. In its first such programme, The Enterprise Project Management: A Vehicle for the Corporate Bottomline, on August 24, CSI-IIMC has tied up with US-based AstroWix Corporation. Upendra Giri, CEO of the company and an expert on project and programme management, will speak on the occasion.

“Enterprise Project Management can help organisations gain visibility in programmes and projects. This provides an insight into how these align with strategic corporate objectives, and control over time-lines and resources, so projects remain focused and business-driven. Our target audience for the programme comprises project managers, programme managers, consultants and students,” adds Scalem.

With almost all the major city-based IT companies logging in for the programme and nominating mid-level managers to attend the half-day session on Sunday, the response from the industry has been “more than satisfactory” for the organisers. Enough to prompt them to draw up a roster of events for the coming months. “It’s the first such student chapter in the IIMs and IITs. We are very impressed with the IIMC students and want to organise more programmes with them,” says Subimal Kundu, chairman of the Society’s Calcutta chapter, which has over 1,400 members.

Besides regular specialised technical lecture sessions by experts, in association with organisations like Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, CSI-IIMC has already decided the next two events — an international workshop on distributed computing and a competition among B-school students to award the best summer project.